Grease soundtrack: the film duet that traveled back to Broadway
The Grease soundtrack gave Danny and Sandy a reunion song that had never belonged to the original stage score. John Farrar supplied “You're the One That I Want” for the 1978 film, with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John performing it. Their earlier stage duet was “All Choked Up.” Later Broadway production records separately credit Farrar when his film songs enter a revival, preserving the distinction between the original score and the movie's additions.
The Broadway League's Internet Broadway Database dates the original New York production to 14 February 1972. Its book, music and lyrics were credited to Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Near the end of the second act, the song list assigns “All Choked Up” to Sandy Dumbrowski, Danny Zuko and the company, followed by the company reprise of “We Go Together.” Farrar's duet is absent. Barry Bostwick and Carole Demas played the leads; Tom Moore directed, and Patricia Birch staged the musical numbers. Those credits belong to the version whose closing duet preceded Farrar's.
Other entries show how much familiar material already existed before the Grease soundtrack. “Summer Nights” belonged to Danny, Sandy and their respective groups in the stage production. “Greased Lightning” was assigned to Kenickie and the boys. The movie credits later assigned the car song to Travolta and Jeff Conaway. Retaining a composition did not require retaining its stage allocation among the characters. The original production continued until 13 April 1980, so the 1978 movie arrived while that stage run was still under way.
The American Film Institute's transcription of the film's song credits distinguishes Farrar's work from the Jacobs–Casey numbers. It credits him with both music and lyrics for the new duet and for Sandy's solo, “Hopelessly Devoted to You.” In the carnival finale, Danny arrives wearing a track letterman sweater, hoping to impress Sandy; she appears in a tight black outfit. The Grease soundtrack accompanies a reunion in which both have altered their appearance. AFI also preserves director Randal Kleiser's later recollection that Sandy's solo was added during production under Newton-John's contractual entitlement to a solo and song approval.
The album had a life outside that screen sequence. Paul Sexton's later uDiscover Music retrospective dates the RSO double LP to 14 April 1978, two months before the film's opening. It includes Newton-John's recollection of Farrar playing the duet to her and her immediate response to its energy. The Grease soundtrack therefore reached record buyers before the finished movie reached cinemas. The song's position at the carnival was late in the movie, whereas the LP introduced the pairing before cinema audiences could see that reunion.
Sexton's retrospective also includes Frankie Valli's firsthand memory of another new contribution. Barry Gibb called him about the title song and played a demo consisting of voice and guitar. Valli was enthusiastic enough to play it for Don Costa. The recollection describes a separate route into the same album: Gibb's composition and Valli's performance joined Farrar's songs and the older theatrical material. The Grease soundtrack was assembled from several creative partnerships.
The stage did not immediately settle into one permanent movie-shaped score. The Broadway League's record of the revival that opened on 11 May 1994 credits Jacobs and Casey with the principal score and identifies John McDaniel as musical director. Its song list gives Sandy a solo on “Since I Don't Have You,” credited separately to James Beaumont, Joseph Rock and the Skyliners. Farrar's reunion duet is absent from that list, which ends with a company finale under the show's title. Danny still has the stage number “Alone at a Drive in Movie.” The revival also assigned the car song to Kenickie and the boys, keeping the original stage allocation. Jeff Calhoun directed and choreographed this version, whose score made several choices independently of the movie.
A different selection appeared at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in 2007. The production record names Jacobs and Casey as the main composers and lyricists, then credits additional songs to Gibb, Farrar, Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon. Kathleen Marshall directed and choreographed. The company opened with Gibb's title song, rather than the school anthem that opened the 1972 song list. Film additions now occupied both the beginning of the show and its closing sequence. “Hopelessly Devoted to You” appears in the second act for Sandy, while “You're the One That I Want” is assigned to Danny, Sandy and the company near the finish. Max Crumm and Laura Osnes originated the two leading roles in this revival. The ordering brings Farrar's duet back into the position occupied by “All Choked Up” in the earlier production record, before the returning company number. The music had crossed from the film adaptation into a subsequent stage production, carrying its film authorship with it.
- American Film Institute, Grease (1978): film song credits, synopsis and production history — catalog.afi.com
- The Broadway League, Grease: original New York production, credits and song list — www.ibdb.com
- Paul Sexton, uDiscover Music: Grease soundtrack retrospective and performer recollections — www.udiscovermusic.com
- The Broadway League, Grease: 1994 revival, credits and song list — www.ibdb.com
- The Broadway League, Grease: 2007 revival, credits and song list — www.ibdb.com